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ACADEMIC PROGRAMS COUNCIL (Norman)
ATHLETICS COUNCIL (University)
BUDGET COUNCIL (Norman)
CAMPUS PLANNING COUNCIL (Norman) [inactive]
CONTINUING EDUCATION COUNCIL (University)
COUNCIL ON FACULTY AWARDS AND HONORS (University)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL (Norman)
RESEARCH COUNCIL (Norman)
FACULTY COMPENSATION COMMITTEE (Norman)
FACULTY WELFARE COMMITTEE (Norman)
Distributed by the Faculty Senate Office
July 2012
Programs Council (norman)
2011-12 Annual
Submitted by
Jerry Crain, Chair
Academic Programs Council
(APC) is chartered to be comprised of nine faculty appointees, four student
appointees and four ex-officio, non-voting members. Faculty members participating on the Council
during Academic Year 2012 (AY12) are listed in Table 1. Throughout AY12,
Professor Jerry Crain served as APC Chair, Professor Karen Hayes-Thumann
chaired the Course and Curriculum sub-committee and Professor Al Schwarzkopf
chaired the Policy and Program sub-committee.
The Council met during the first week of the month (Tuesdays in the Fall, and Fridays in the Spring) in Buchanan Hall. The transition to entirely paperless enabled
Council's ability to again manage the spring rush in which nominally 80% of the
program and course proposals are submitted.
A total of 66 and 751, respectively, were processed in AY12. Business for the year was completed with only
two proposals left ion the table (one Certificate and one Minor), both awaiting
response to APC feedback.
Table 1: Faculty appointed to Academic Programs
Council, AY12. These members were active
in assessing proposals electronically and in communicating deficiencies to the
proposing entities.
Name |
Department |
Sub-Committee |
by |
Term |
Jerry Crain |
Elect/Comp Engineering |
APC Chair |
Faculty Senate |
2011-2012 |
Karen Hayes-Thumann |
Art & Art History |
Courses Chair |
Faculty Senate |
2011-2014 |
George Cusack |
Expository Writing Program |
Courses |
Faculty Senate |
2011-2013 |
Lee Fithian |
Architecture |
Programs |
Faculty Senate |
2010-2012 |
Mitchell Smith* |
Political Science |
Courses |
President |
2010-2013 |
Al Schwarzkopf |
Management Info Science |
Programs Chair |
President |
2010-2013 |
Lesley Rankin-Hill |
Anthropology |
Programs |
President |
2011-2014 |
Sean O'Neil |
Anthropology |
Programs |
Faculty Senate |
2009-2012 |
Scott Williams |
Architecture |
Courses |
Faculty Senate |
2011-2014 |
Ex-Officio members include
Dr. Nancy Mergler (Provost), Dr. Paul Bell (Vice Provost for Instruction),
Matthew Hamilton (Registrar and Vice President for Enrollment and Student
Financial Services), and Judy Cain (Coordinator of Curriculum Changes and
Academic Publications).
Judy Cain provided
primary staff support for Council. She
coordinated proposal inputs with the authors, supported and implemented changes
at and after Council meetings, and organized the materials ultimately to be sent
forward. Jean Ware (Manager of Administration
and Operations for Admissions and Records) continued to support the committee
this year and was instrumental in distributing and manipulating the electronic
data through the various steps from the proposal stage to forwarding with
recommendation from the Council. APC did
not have benefit of student representation on the Council this year.
APC now operates fully
under a paperless procedure. D2L and
Course Leaf sites in combination provide APC members with all the material
required to review, manage and recommend course and
program proposals for approval each month.
Forwarded proposals are notably more consistent in format and content
with this system. Communications
between the Council and those making proposals are greatly improved by all
materials being in electronic format.
This year, we added an archival section to D2L to retain data from (up
to) the prior 2 years.
Electronic review of
proposals simplified APC operation and allowed greater numbers of proposals to
be given proper service during peak (Spring)
months. Table 2 (next page) shows the AY11 and month-to-month proposal
requests to the Council. This year's
activity shows a 17% increase in the number of course proposals completed complemented
by a 30% decrease in program proposals with respect to last year (AY11).
The College of Arts and
Sciences continued their nominal pace of 30% of course and program
proposals. Activities with the College
of Architecture were significant this year as the college upgraded its advanced
degree programs per their announced plans from last year. Liberal Studies
contributed some 15% of the course proposals as they aligned their courses with
new areas of interest/emphasis. Program
proposals for AY11 were very similar to AY10 in both quantity and distribution
among colleges.
Table 2: AY12 Proposals received by APC for Courses
[C] (751) and Programs [P] (66) showing monthly details, summaries by College,
and totals compared to AY11
Colleges |
Oct. 2011 |
Nov. 2011 |
Dec. 2011 |
Feb. 2012 |
Mar. 2012 |
Apr. 2012 |
May 2012 |
June 2012 |
Total AY 2012 |
Total AY 2011 |
Academic Affairs |
0 |
0 |
Architecture |
2 |
1 |
2 |
68 |
5 |
11 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
83 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
Arts & Sciences |
45 |
3 |
9 |
177 |
12 |
2 |
16 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
248 |
23 |
193 |
33 |
Atmospheric & Geog.
Sciences |
1 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
9 |
29 |
7 |
Business |
2 |
1 |
4 |
27 |
2 |
28 |
3 |
62 |
5 |
39 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
Earth & Energy |
1 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
12 |
1 |
16 |
4 |
Education |
1 |
19 |
1 |
8 |
2 |
9 |
3 |
11 |
3 |
51 |
6 |
88 |
5 |
Engineering |
13 |
12 |
14 |
4 |
3 |
11 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
57 |
7 |
32 |
12 |
Fine Arts |
15 |
9 |
3 |
61 |
2 |
5 |
93 |
2 |
38 |
2 |
Graduate |
1 |
4 |
Honors |
0 |
0 |
International & Area
Studies |
10 |
10 |
13 |
7 |
Journalism |
4 |
7 |
Law |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
Liberal Studies |
1 |
8 |
11 |
27 |
69 |
2 |
118 |
180 |
5 |
University College |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
University-wide |
0 |
1 |
18 |
1 |
107 |
6 |
77 |
6 |
251 |
14 |
50 |
13 |
201 |
18 |
47 |
8 |
751 |
66 |
AY11 Requests |
71 |
10 |
18 |
2 |
19 |
4 |
401 |
24 |
26 |
17 |
19 |
29 |
78 |
13 |
5 |
1 |
637 |
100 |
year again saw an increase in the number of proposals for Minors. Thirteen proposals were for addition or
modification of Minors. Certificate
proposals were not significant this year (1), after a flurry of submittals last
year. Procedures and benchmarks are now
in place with the Council to assure consistency in proposals recommended for
approval under both of these special offerings.
APC members voted at the
May 3 meeting to elect Professor Karen Hayes-Thumann as Council Chair for
AY13. Dr. Crain will retire from
University at the end of AY12. Prof. Al
Schwarzkopf will continue to chair the Policy and Program Subcommittee, and
Prof. Lee Fithian will chair the Course and
Curriculum Subcommittee in AY13.
2011-12 Annual
Submitted by Emily D. Johnson, Chair
The Athletics
Council met five times in 2011-2012. Meeting dates were October 4, November 15,
February 24, April 5, and June 14.
2011-2012 Athletics Council membership:
members: Susan Hahn, Jack Kasulis, Craig
Hofford, Penny Hopkins, Emily Johnson, Charles Kimball, Larry Regens, and
Francene Weatherby.
Members: Clay Wesley and Patrick Hutton
Members: UOSA – Paul Dollahite, OUHSC – Taylor
– Eric Bailey and Lisa Jett
Sandy Kinney and Lindy Ritz.
Officio: Joseph Castiglione (Athletic Director), Connie Dillon (Faculty
Athletics Representative to the NCAA).
Department: Jason Leonard (Executive Director, Athletics Compliance),
Nicki Moore (Senior Associate Athletics Director, Academics), Larry Naifeh (Executive Associate Athletics Director), Luther Lee
(Associate Athletic Director, Chief Financial Officer), Brandon Martin (Sr.
Associate Athletic Director, Administration).
Secretary: Wendy Plummer (Administrative Assistant).
October 4
At the October 4 meeting,
Connie Dillon provided an orientation to new Council members and explained the
functions of the Council and its Subcommittees.
Professor Regens presented
the Fiscal Integrity report for FY 2011. He reported that the department
had again balanced its budget without benefit of state appropriations and had
contributed to University general fund through the academic enhancement fee of
$5 per football ticket sold, generating approximately $2 million toward the
University general fund in FY 11. Coupled with the annual contribution to the
University libraries and other indirect revenues, the Athletic Department has
provided $9.2 million dollars in support of academic programs at the University
over the past eight years. Professor Regens noted that another significant
accomplishment of the Athletic Department in FY 11 was paying off the Working
Capital Loan eleven years ahead of schedule.
Professor Regens also
reviewed the FY12 budget and explained that it is conservative in nature and
may change depending on bowl game revenues and expenses and other developments
that may arise. It is designed to allow the department to continue to maintain
a balanced budget as the year progresses.
He was pleased to report that the department was making significant
capital investments in women's sports, which includes plans for a new boat
house in Oklahoma City in support of our Women's Rowing team, adding that
construction of an on campus rowing practice facility will begin next year.
Mr. Castiglione reviewed with
the Council matters related to Conference realignment and assured members that
to the extent it is possible he will inform Council Members of any changes
related to realignment. He reminded the Council of the department's commitment
to full transparency and reported on his recent meetings with the Faculty
Senates on both the Norman and HSC campuses.
Mr. Castiglione also
discussed the ground-breaking of the new Sooner Housing Center at the corner of
Jenkins and Lindsey Streets, projected to be completed in fall 2013. The new 380 bed facility is a $75 million
project that will be financed with private donations and owned and operated by
the Athletic Department. By NCAA rules, the facility will house non-athletes
with a 51/49 ratio of non-athletes to athletes.
The other Athletic Department owned facilities, Jones, Jefferson and the
dining hall, will be torn down and a full evaluation is expected relative to
the future of Bud Wilkinson Hall.
Finally, in the time allotted
for new business, the Council discussed questions that had arisen regarding
recent appointments and moved to create an Ad Hoc Committee to draft
recommendations that might be sent forward to appointing bodies and individuals
with an eye to minimizing potential conflicts of interest on the Athletics
Council and insuring that all members are carefully vetted, fully informed, and
able to perform their responsibilities.
November 5
At the November 15 meeting,
Charles Kimball, the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Appointments, submitted
this body's recommendations to the Council.
After several minor changes, they were approved. These recommendations are attached. The Athletics Council feels strongly that in
future appointing bodies and individuals should adhere to these guidelines in
making new appointments to the Athletics Council.
If the appointing
body has a nominating committee charged with making appointments to the
Athletics Council, as is the case for the Norman and HSC Faculty and Staff
Senates, then sitting members of that nominating committee should not be
considered for appointment to the Athletics Council.
The Council feels
that the following circumstances should absolutely disqualify nominees from
1) The nominee was cited in an NCAA major violation or
multiple secondary violations;
2) The nominee benefits financially as a direct or
indirect result of business dealings connected with OU athletics;
3) The nominee is a sports agent or is personally
connected to a sports agent, sports financial advisor, or runner;
4) The nominee is a current or former employee of the
Athletics Department or a family member of a current Athletics Department
The Council has
created a disclosure form (attached) that all nominees to the Council should
complete. These completed forms should
guide appointing bodies and individuals in their decisions. When an appointment is made, the appointing
body should forward the new appointee's completed disclosure form to the Chair
of the Athletics Council. The Chair will
then share this form with the Athletics Compliance Department.
Additionally, the
Council notes that service on the Athletics Council requires a significant time
commitment. Appointing bodies and
individuals should insure that nominees are willing and able to make this time
commitment and that they are prepared to engage seriously in the Council's
At the November meeting,
Professor Penny Hopkins presented the Academic Integrity Subcommittee Report,
which compared the academic qualifications of incoming student-athletes with
the University student body as a whole. She described the NCAA's academic
progress measure (APR). She also
explained how the calculation of the NCAA's graduation success rate (GSR)
differs from the federal graduation rate.
She noted promising developments in terms of academic progress measures
and also highlighted the fact that many student athletes who depart for
professional careers before graduating are now choosing to return in future
years to earn the credits they need to finish their degrees.
Eric Bailey and Lisa Jett,
the Council's two student athlete representatives, delivered the report of the
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. They
reported a series of concerns that have been voiced in student athlete
satisfaction surveys and also in recent Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
meetings. Although in most respects
student-athletes are very happy at OU, some report trouble in balancing the
scheduling requirements of their sports and their academic coursework. Student-athletes perceive some majors as
inaccessible because key requirements are only offered in the afternoons and
hence coincide with mandatory practices.
They also sometimes feel as though they are at a disadvantage in the
classroom because of the classes they miss as a result of competition. Even though these absences are excused,
instructors sometimes do not offer athletes the opportunity to make up in-class
quizzes or to earn the extra points that other students have accrued with
clickers. The Academic Integrity
Subcommittee and Academic Support Services in the Athletics Department hope to
address these issues in the future.
February 24
At our February 24th
meeting, we heard a detailed report on student-athlete health and safety. Scott
Anderson, OU's head trainer, spoke about efforts to insure that OU
student-athletes receive the best possible medical care. He passed out tables that showed which
trainers and physicians staffed each sport.
For all sports except golf, which has a relatively low injury risk, a
dedicated trainer attends daily practices as well as all home and away
competitions. Primary care physicians hold regular clinic hours in the Freede Center for Athletic Medicine. Orthopedic surgeons
hold weekly clinics in the same space; Psychiatrists and Cardiologists are
available biweekly at the Center. These on-site clinics make it convenient for
students to receive care in the case of illness, injury, or other health
concerns. Team physicians routinely
attend home competitions and attend away competitions by invitation.
Mr. Anderson noted that the
Athletics Department has updated its policies regarding insurance coverage for
non-scholarship athletes to formalize practices regarding insurance coverage
for walk-on athletes that had emerged in recent years on an ad hoc basis. In
the past, coaches had applied to the Athletic Director for a walk-on athlete to
be covered by the Department's medical insurance policy as an exception, and
such exceptions were routinely granted. Now all athletes regardless of their
scholarship status are automatically covered under the Athletics Department's
medical policy, which is a form of secondary insurance coverage: if the
student-athlete has other coverage, that other coverage counts as the primary
As part of this same report, Larry Naifeh,
the Executive Associate Athletics Director, spoke about the Athletics
Department's travel policies for both student-athletes and for coaches. He noted that OU has developed detailed standards for
the kinds of planes that can be used to transport athletes and staff traveling
on official business and also for pilot qualifications. The Department refuses
donations of flying time if the plane does not meet its standards. When teams
are traveling by bus, the Department makes sure that drivers are not working
more than a fixed number of hours.
At this same meeting,
Professor Larry Regens presented the Fiscal Integrity Subcommittee's report on
External Operations. He reported that the department had maintained its
status as one of the country's few entirely self-sustaining Division I
athletics programs and was continuing to contribute to the University general
fund through the academic enhancement fee of $5 per football ticket sold. He
also talked about on-going capital investments, including, most significantly,
the construction of the new Sooner Housing Center, Headington
Professor Regens noted that
the Athletics Department had scored a number of key fund-raising successes in
2010-2011 despite the difficult economy.
It set a record of 10,405 members contributing to the Sooner Club. All told, these members donated $19.38
million to support scholarships, capital projects, and debt service. A gift from OU alumnus Tim Headington provided $10 million towards the construction of
the new Sooner Housing Center. The
Athletics Department also generated $3.78 million through licensing revenues
and $7.9 million through the Sooner Sports Properties agreement.
Goals for 2011-2012,
according to Professor Regens, include the launch of a television network with
a major distribution partner, maintaining the ongoing sellout streak in
football, and considering new agreements in the areas of licensing and ticket
sales. The Department also hopes to build on its successful efforts to use
social media to reach out to fans.
Sandy Kinney and Jason
Leonard delivered the report of the Governance and Compliance
Subcommittee. They detailed all the
steps that the Compliance Department takes to make sure that OU is in
compliance with NCAA policies. As Jason Leonard noted, the scope of activities
that Compliance needs to monitor is constantly expanding. The Compliance
Department carefully tracks infractions occurring around the country to try to
stay ahead of potential problems. In
recent years the amount of energy the department has devoted to monitoring the
social media pages of student-athletes has increased dramatically in response
to problems at other schools. It is,
however, not possible to foresee or prevent every problem. The NCAA penalizes schools even when the
institution could not reasonably be expected to know about a violation and had
no means to prevent it. Mr. Leonard reminded the Council that the penalty
imposed on the OU basketball program this year stemmed from the actions of a
single former student-athlete who had accepted a loan of $3,000 from a Florida
financial advisor before coming to campus and also from the failure of one
former assistant basketball coach to report the violation once he learned of
it. He noted that the Compliance Department will continue to do its best to
insure that OU remains in compliance with all NCAA policies and to avoid future
Mr. Castiglione and Connie
Dillon both spoke briefly with the Council about current trends in NCAA
governance and also about the changes to rules governing student-athlete
scholarships. These include a move to allow universities to offer multi-year
scholarships to student athletes as opposed to renewing their scholarships each
year and also efforts to provide student-athletes with a modest stipend to
defray some of the costs of university attendance that are not covered by their
scholarships. Mr. Castiglione noted that
these proposals have been controversial.
The proposal to provide a stipend failed due to an override by the NCAA
membership. Multi-year scholarships will be allowed. The Athletics Department is still weighing how
best to proceed given this new option.
April 5:
At the April
meeting of the Athletics Council the Academic Integrity Subcommittee
distributed its recommendations for Student-Athlete Awards. This list was unanimously approved by the
Council also heard a report on the new Sooner Jr. program by Athletics
Department staff members. This new program uses cartoon depictions of Boomer
and Sooner along with the acronym F.A.N.S – fitness fun, academics, nutrition
and sportsmanship to inspire children and encourage lifelong learning and
activity. To date, the program has been
performed at 11 schools throughout the state reaching roughly 6,500
children. In the future, the Department
hopes to expand the initiative statewide and to add a coach's fitness challenge
and a reading challenge.
The Athletics Council's
Nominating Committee, which was comprised of the out-going Chair, Emily
Johnson, and the in-coming Chair, Charles Kimball, presented the nominees for
the position of Chair-Elect for the 2012-2013 academic year to Council
members. It was agreed that each nominee
would provide a one-paragraph biography to the Council and that a vote would be
conducted by email in advance of the June meeting.
In his report to the Council,
Joe Castiglione noted that the construction of the Headington
hall remained on schedule and that the Department expects a balanced budget for
the current fiscal year.
In her report to the Council,
OU's Faculty Athletics Representative Connie Dillon reported that some faculty
members had concerns about Athletic Department staff proctoring the makeup
exams of student-athletes. Senior
Associate Athletics Director Dr. Nicki Moore explained that the department
prefers that makeup exam testing is done at a certified testing center, but on
occasion the centers are not available and a faculty member is not able to
personally proctor the test. The Council
discussed developing a more formal tiered system and referred the matter to the
Academic Integrity Subcommittee so that they could discuss the matter in detail
and bring policy recommendations back to the Council in the fall.
June 14
At the June 14 meeting, the
Council heard a report from the Fiscal Integrity Subcommittee that detailed
revenues and expenditures for FY 2012 and outlined budgetary plans for the next
year. Dr. Jack Kasulis,
who was standing in for the Chair of the Subcommittee, Dr. Larry Regens, noted
that the Athletics Department continues to budget conservatively and remains
one of only seven programs in the country that continues to operate on a
balanced budget without the help of state appropriations, university
allocations, or student fees. Moreover,
the OU Athletics Department generated $2 million in support for academics on
campus this year through the $5 academic enhancement fee which is added to the
price of every football ticket.
Dr. Kasulis
also described a number of audit reports that the Subcommittee reviewed,
including a report on whether the institution met NCAA-mandated minimum attendance
standards for football, an hourly payroll operational audit, which focused on
procedures and internal controls, and a compliance audit, which focused on NCAA
compliance issues. In all cases, OU was
deemed in good shape. The Hourly Payroll
Operational Audit did recommend some changes to the controls over appointing
temporary employees. These
recommendations were implemented.
Dr. Kasulis
noted that Athletics submits monthly financial statements to the University CFO
and adheres to all University financial, purchasing, and budget
procedures. It is included in the
University's annual audit.
At the conclusion of the
report, Larry Naifeh described capital projects in
process or in development, including the Field House renovation project, the
development of new facilities for rowing, plans for Stage IV stadium
renovations, and work on Headington Hall.
Lindy Ritz, the Chair of the
Gender Equity and Sportsmanship Subcommittee, delivered a report on Title IX
compliance that drew on the work of an outside consultant hired to monitor the
Athletics Department's programming, activities, and financial aid distribution
to insure that they meet the standards outlined in this law. Lindy Ritz noted that OU remains fully
compliant with Title IX based on satisfaction of two of three safe harbors
under the "interest and abilities framework": it provides male and female
students with participation opportunities "in numbers substantially
proportionate to their respective enrollment" and it fully and effectively accommodates
the interests and abilities of prospective female student athletes. Lindy Ritz
noted that the amount of financial aid distributed to male and female student
athletes is essentially equal and that the Department takes great care to
insure that the facilities, goods, and services provided to female student
athletes equal those offered to male student athletes.
Connie Dillon, OU's Faculty
Athletics Representative, presented to the Council with a series of proposals
for updating both sections of the Faculty Handbook that pertain to excused
absences and make-up exams and Board of Regents Policies pertaining to the
Council. She noted that some
discrepancies existed between these documents and current Athletics Department
policies. With an eye to clarifying
these issues, streamlining the operations of the Athletics Council itself, and
also improving oversight over athletics, it was suggested the Council recommend
a series of changes to the Board of Regents.
These include:
members opted to table these recommendations until the fall so that more time
could be given to considering the proposal. A copy of these recommendations is
Other events at the June
meeting included a brief report by Joe Castiglione that focused on Conference
income distribution and the introduction of the winner of the election for the
Chair-Elect position for next year: Dr. Larry Regens. Council Members also bid farewell to Connie
Dillon, who is retiring and stepping down from her post as Faculty Athletics
Representative effective July 1.
In general, the Council feels
that the OU Athletics Department is well run and continues to make a positive
commitment to university life. The
Athletics Department is committed to being transparent in its operations and
welcomes faculty involvement and oversight.
Recommendations on Appointments to the Athletics Council
Background: Regent's Policy charges the Athletics Council with the responsibility of advising the President and Athletics Director on athletics policy matters. As such, the Athletics Council is invited and encouraged to make recommendations directly to the President regarding athletics policies and programs. Given the increasing scrutiny of intercollegiate athletics, the Athletics Council asserts that it would be prudent for the University to develop clear guidelines on appointments to the Athletics Council that will minimize the potential for conflicts of interest on the Council and insure that Council members are carefully vetted, fully informed and able to perform their responsibilities. With this in mind, the Athletics Council has developed this set of guidelines that future appointing bodies and individuals should follow when making appointments to the Council.
Vetting Procedures:
Conflict of Interest:
1) The nominee was cited in an NCAA major violation or multiple secondary violations;
2) The nominee benefits financially as a direct or indirect result of business dealings connected with OU athletics;
3) The nominee is a sports agent or is personally connected to a sports agent, sports financial advisor, or runner;
4) The nominee is a current or former employee of the Athletics Department or a family member of a current Athletics Department employee.
Commitment to Service
For Nominees to the OU Athletics Council
Proposed Policy Changes:
Regents' Policy, Faculty Handbook, Athletics Department
Attendance and missed exam policies governing student-athletes may be found in three separate policies. These include: 1) Regents Policy; 2) Faculty Handbook; and 3) Athletic Department. As a result of the multiple policies, some discrepancies and issues have emerged. Although not exhaustive, these issues include:
1) The nature of academic
oversight of competition schedules and other athletic events that impact class
attendance, i.e., Chief Academic Officer
and Athletics Council need to be more actively involved in decisions concerning
and oversight over class attendance and missed exams.
2) To clarify what is
considered a "Provost-approved university-sponsored event" and the process for
determining which activities qualify.
3) To clarify student-athlete
responsibility to notify faculty and providing adequate notice and faculty
obligations if this notice is not provided.
4) Distinguishing between
notifying faculty about a Provost-approved event versus an athletic department
excused absence, i.e., illness or family
emergency, etc.
Below you will find the current policies followed by proposed changes to those policies, which are intended to address the issues and discrepancies discussed above.
Proposed recommendations for the Athletics Council include modifications in term of appointment for faculty and alumni to provide for more meaningful oversight, changes in Council subcommittee duties to more accurately reflect actual responsibilities, and inclusion of selection criteria and conflict of interest policy for council membership.
Proposed Changes
Regents Policy
6.1.7 (new number) EQUITY AND
The Council and its Equity and Sportsmanship Subcommittee annually shall review policies related to gender equity and minority issues and sportsmanship and make suggestions or recommendations to the Council.
Membership |
Method of Appointment |
Term |
6 Norman Campus Faculty |
No Change |
2 HSC Faculty Members |
No Change |
3 |
2 Alumni Members |
No Change |
Insert Council Recommendations here
The President and the Director of Athletics shall have authority to approve schedules for all intercollegiate athletics events.
A. No intercollegiate athletics events will be scheduled without the advance approval of the Director of Athletics (or the Director's designee(s)) as follows:
1. Athletics events include the following: All events approved as per Regents' Policy 6.2.8, NCAA and Conference postseason championship events and with documented satisfactory academic performance, established national championship events (including junior national championships); the Olympic Games (including specific competition, e.g., Olympic Trials from which participants may directly qualify for the Olympic Games); Pan American Games; World Championships; World Cup and World University Games.
2. No intercollegiate athletics event is permitted during scheduled final examination periods with exceptions for Conference and NCAA post-season competition. Practice sessions, including strength and conditioning, shall be limited during examination periods, unless the participating student athletes have completed all their scheduled examinations.
3. No team schedule or individual schedule will be approved if it provides that the team or individual will miss more than the equivalent of ten full class days in any semester, computed as follows:
(a) when a competition or travel associated with it is scheduled to commence prior to 1:00 p.m., one full day will be considered missed;
(b) when commencement is after 1:00 p.m., no class days are considered missed because of the way in which student-athletes schedule their classes during their competitive seasons;
(c) when the return travel from a competition is scheduled to terminate on any day after 1:00 a.m. but before 7:00 a.m., one-half day will be considered missed; and
(d) when the return travel is scheduled to terminate after 7:00 a.m., one full day will be considered missed.
4. In the event that a team schedule or individual schedule will cause a student-athlete to miss more than ten full class days, exceptions to Section A, subsection 3 may be permitted in consultation with the Faculty Athletics Representative for good cause, with justification documented, and satisfactory academic performance by the individual(s) involved.
5. In a questionable situation, the Director of
Athletics consult with the Athletics Council.
B. The Director of Athletics or his or her designee will report to the Athletics Council at its first meeting of each academic year on exceptions under Paragraph A, above, occurring during the previous academic year.
C. Attention will be given to all the sports schedules and the worksheets showing time away from campus for all sports. Specifically, the worksheets will show the opposing team or name of the contest, the city and state where it took place, and the date(s) (and starting time, if appropriate). In addition, the worksheet will show clearly each instance in which one-half or a whole day of classes was missed. Any issue(s) regarding full compliance with this policy will be brought to the attention of the Council as a whole.
D. No class time shall be missed for practice activities except in conjunction with away-from-home competition.
E. Student-athletes are responsible for arranging with their instructors for making up any course work missed while participating in athletics events, including making arrangements with their instructors for making up missed tests and examinations in accordance with faculty policies established by the faculty as set forth in the Norman Campus Faculty Handbook.
Council and its Equity and Sportsmanship Academic Integrity and
Student-Athlete Welfare Subcommittee annually shall review intercollegiate
sports competition and make suggestions or recommendations as appropriate, on
facilities, scheduling, recruiting, rule changes or other matters.
The Council annually shall review the admission and academic performance of student-athletes. Reports to the Council and/or its Academic Integrity and Student Welfare Subcommittee will include information on admissions, retention, graduations, academic performance, and academic services to student-athletes including counseling, tutoring, and the monitoring of classroom attendance and grades. The Council shall report its findings and recommendations to Athletics Department personnel and to the President.
The following guidelines have
been approved by the Faculty Senate and the UOSA to aid the faculty in
determining a policy for make-up exams (other than final examinations) in cases
of absences due to participation in University-sponsored or legally required
activities. (For the policy on final examinations, see Section 4.7.)
Only Provost-approved
university-sponsored activities such as scholarly competitions, fine arts
performances, intercollegiate athletics competitions and academic field trips,
and legally required activities, such as emergency military service and jury
duty, are covered by these guidelines. Faculty, if given notice two
class periods or one week (whichever is less) before an exam (including final
exams with two weeks notice) or quiz (excluding pop
quizzes), should make every effort to find a reasonable accommodation by (a)
giving a makeup exam, an early exam, or quiz; (b) changing the exam schedule; or
(c) dropping the exam or quiz and increasing the weight of another exam or
quiz or other agreed upon approaches acceptable to the instructor and the
student , or (d) by identifying a certified testing center. Students missing an
exam on account of jury duty must be allowed an accommodation.
NOTICE: If the student and the
faculty member cannot agree, normal appeal procedures (faculty to
director/chair to college dean to Senior Vice President and Provost) are
available to the student and can be followed.
For information about what activities are Provost-approved or how to have activities approved, contact the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost.
If a final examination is given, no faculty member is authorized to depart from the published examination schedule for either a class or an individual without approval, as follows: An examination for the entire class may be rescheduled only with the approval of the Academic Regulations Committee. A request for such rescheduling should be addressed to the Chair of that committee and should carry the endorsement of the department and the dean concerned. Final examinations for a class outside the period set aside under University regulations for final examinations are prohibited. An examination may be rescheduled for an individual student only when required by law, as in the case of jury duty, or in emergencies such as illness of the student, a serious illness or death in the immediate family, or an unavoidable academic conflict of compelling importance, including a conflict due to Regents' approved exceptions for Conference and NCAA post-season intercollegiate athletics competition (as per section 126.96.36.199 of Regents' policy). For such a conflict to be considered as grounds for rescheduling a final examination, the activity must be directly related to the student's academic work in the University or a Provost- approved University-sponsored event. Such rescheduling must have the approval of the instructor or instructors concerned, the department chair or chairs concerned, and the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled and should be timed in such a way to avoid compromising the integrity of the examination (Note 1). Final Examination has been defined as follows: an examination that is comprehensive in nature or that accounts for a greater proportion of the final grade than an exam given during the semester.
Students are responsible for the content of courses in which they are enrolled. Specific policy concerning attendance requirements and announced and unannounced examinations is the responsibility of the individual instructor. Students have a responsibility to inform faculty prior to absences whenever possible. Faculty should make every effort to find a reasonable accommodation for students who miss class as a result of participation in Provost-approved University-sponsored activities or legally required activities such as emergency military service. Students missing class on account of jury duty must receive such an accommodation.
Athletics Class Attendance Policy (2012)
The Athletics Class Attendance Policy approaches the issue differently, focusing primarily on the repercussions for the student-athlete who is not meeting their scholastic responsibilities. Thus, few changes are necessary to reconcile the Athletics Class Attendance Policy with the others discussed. Only if the other policies are amended, would the Athletics Policy be required to change, as it references both the Regents Policy and the Norman Faculty Handbook. Among the most significant differences are:
a) The two day notice requirement for student-athletes regarding missed class and missed exams should be changed to two class periods or one week (whichever is less) with the exception of a final examination which requires a minimum of two weeks notice (no exceptions).
b) Copying the Provost on all missed class notification as a result of Provost-approved University-sponsored activity.
c) Athletics policy should require a minimum of two weeks notice for any missed final examination which occurs as a result of NCAA post-season or conference competition.
d) Policy should include a statement that informs student-athletes that if notification regarding exams or missed class does not meet this policy, that faculty members and instructors are not obligated to provide an excuse as stipulated in the Faculty Handbook.
BUDGET Council
2011-12 Annual
Submitted by
SUSAN HAHN, Chair
The Budget Council (Norman) is charged to recommend to
and advise the President and other appropriate administrators on matters
concerning fiscal policies and resources of the University. Its purpose is to
provide on a continuing basis continuity and balance
in budgetary planning and execution within the University. The Budget Council
shall also report each semester to the Faculty Senate on matters concerning
fiscal policies and resources of the University.
Ex-officio, nonvoting members:
Nancy Mergler, Senior Vice President and Provost – firstname.lastname@example.com, 325-3221
Nick Hathaway, Vice President, Administrative and Executive Affairs – firstname.lastname@example.com, 325-3916
Faculty Senate Appointees (3 year appointments):
John Albert, Mathematics (2009-2012) – firstname.lastname@example.com, 325-3782
Mike Bemben, Health and Exercise Science (2009-2012) – email@example.com, 325-2717
Susan Hahn, Chair, University Libraries (2010-2013) – firstname.lastname@example.com, 325-4231
Bruce Mason, Physics and Astronomy (2011-2014) – firstname.lastname@example.com, 325-3961 ext
Staff Senate Appointees (3 year appointments):
Elizabeth Gatewood, Printing, Mailing, and Document Services (2010-2013) – firstname.lastname@example.com, 325-4176
Erin Wolfe, University Research Cabinet 2011-2014) – email@example.com , 325-3926
UOSA Appointments (1 year appointment):
Presidential Appointments (2 faculty, 1 staff for
3 years appointment and 1 student for 1 year term):
1. Tom Woodfin, Landscape Architecture (2011-2014)
– email@example.com, 325-2299
1.Craig Hayes,
Recruitment/Development (2010-2013) – firstname.lastname@example.com, 325-1221
Meetings – The Budget Council
meets on the third Monday of the Monday during the academic year. Meetings were held on September 19, October
17, November 21, December 19, no meeting on January due to Martin Luther King
Day, Februarys 20, and March 19. The
Budget Council has two more meetings scheduled – April 16 and May 21.
Speakers -
January – no meeting, MLK
Mon. Sept 19 - Linda Anderson
– Director of OU Budget Office
Mark Jones – Associate Director OU Budget Office
Mon. Oct 19 - Glen Johnson –
Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer for the Oklahoma State System of Higher
Mon. Nov 21 - Danny Hilliard
– Vice President for Government Relations
Mon. Dec 19 - Chris Kuwitzky – Associate Vice
President for Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Nick Hathaway –
Executive Vice President and Vice President of Administrative and Finance
Mon. Feb 20 – Joe Castiglione
– Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs and Director of
Mon. March 19
– Tripp Hall – Vice President for University Development
Kelvin Droegemeier – Vice President for Research
Mon. April 16 – Julius
Hilburn – Associate Vice President for Human Resources
Patton – President OU Foundation
Mon, May 21 – Dan Pullin – Vice President
for Strategic Planning and Economic Development
Chris Kuwitzky – Associate Vice President for
Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, September 19, 2011
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
John Albert
Beth Gatewood
Susan Hahn
Bruce Mason
Tom Woodfin
Erin Wolfe
Mike Bemben (conference)
Craig Hayes
Nick Hathaway (Regents meeting)
Nancy Mergler (Regents meeting)
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
1. Introduction of members
2. Speakers Linda Anderson, Director OU Budget Office and
Mark Jones, Associate Director OU Budget office.
reviewed the budget procedures with the Council. The total University budget is
810 million with the E&G budget at 43.5 million. The Budget Office was able
to finish the 2010/2011 year with a zero deficit. She noted state revenues are p 18% from last year at this time. Linda explained that the Budget Office is
always looking five years ahead and are more focused n years 2014, 2015 then
current year.
Linda handed
out 3 handouts to the Council: Office of State Finance - Income Tax Collection, FY 2012 Budget
needs, FY 2013 Budget Needs.
discussed – trying to find ways the Budget Council could be more involved with
the budget process.
3. New Business
A quick
review of the charge and purpose of the
Budget Council and the Budget Guiding Principles approved by Faculty Senate
Discussed several
topics the Council could address this year:
Incentives for
unites to develop courses and profit
2. Retail space in the Union, bringing in outside vendors,
such as Clinque
Asked the council to be thinking of topics the Council
could address. Linda stated it would be a good idea to get any reports to
President Boren as soon as possible in January.
Meeting adjourned at 4:40PM
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, October 17, 2011
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
John Albert
Linda Anderson
Mike Bemben
Beth Gatewood
Susan Hahn
Craig Hayes
Bruce Mason
Nancy Mergler
Erin Wolfe
Nick Hathaway
Tom Woodfin
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
1. Approved the September minutes
2. Introduced the guest speaker, Chancellor Glen Johnson,
Oklahoma State Regents
Please see: http://okhighered.org/state-system/powerpoints/powerpoints.shtml
3. New Business
A quick
review of the charge and purpose of the
Budget Council and the Budget Guiding Principles approved by Faculty Senate
Discussed several
topics the Council could address this year:
Incentives for
unites to develop courses and profit
2. Retail space in the Union, bringing in outside
vendors, such as Clinque
Asked the council to be thinking of topics the Council
could address. Linda stated it would be a good idea to get any reports to
President Boren as soon as possible in January.
Meeting adjourned at 4:40PM
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, November 21, 2011
3:35 – 5:15
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
John Albert
Mike Bemben
Susan Hahn
Erin Wolfe
Linda Anderson
Beth Gatewood
Nick Hathaway
Craig Hayes
Mark Jones
Bruce Mason
Nancy Mergler
Tom Woodfin
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
1. Approved the October
2. Introduced the guest speaker, Danny Hilliard, Vice
President for Government Relations
Danny detailed his back ground in State
Government. He served in the House of
Representatives from 1990 to 2004 – chair of the Higher Education Committee
from 1992- 1994, subcommittee chair of appropriations from 1995 to 2000, House
Majority Leader from 2000 to 2002 and Speaker Pro Tempore 2002-2004.
Danny then discussed the overall higher education
budget and the trending based on his experience. He shared with the Committee a draft budget
data presented to the Governor and Chief of Staff, included numbers from
the Board of Regents. See attached
3. Letter to Faculty from President Boren:
It was noted that the Council understood overall
budget decisions were made by President Boren.
The Council would remind the President of the Guiding Principles for
Budgetary Actions passed by the OU Faculty Senate May 2010.
Susan Hahn expressed concerned, where were further
cuts going to come from? How could the University and Faculty maintain their
Research with further loss of Graduate Student hours.
Mike Bemben likened our budget cuts over several years
to being cut like a butter knife as opposed to the California universities one
grand cut to that of machete. When in
fact our cuts
over several years come close to schools on California's one grand hack of 20
to 25%
4. Continuing Business:
The Council continued discussion regarding Council's
report to the President.
Mike Bemben suggested we look at the cost of to the
University with the loss of the Graduate student hours. It was suggested the Council gather data from
the Graduate Office and the Office of Research to determine how the budget cuts
have effected faculty due to the loss of graduate
student hours.
No New Business
Meeting adjourned at 5:15PM
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, December, 2011
3:35 – 4:15
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
John Albert
Linda Anderson
Mike Bemben
Beth Gatewood
Susan Hahn
Erin Wolfe
Nick Hathaway
Craig Hayes
Mark Jones
Bruce Mason
Nancy Mergler
Tom Woodfin
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
Linda Anderson
announced scheduled guest speakers Chris Kuwitzky, Vice President for
Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer and Nick Hathaway,
Executive Vice President and Vice President of Administration and Finance had
been called away and were unable to attend.
Both would like to reschedule.
Discussion of the
council's report to President Boren ensued.
Beth Gatewood brought up had budget cuts were effecting staff and their
job duties. It was noted the
repercussions of the loss of graduate student would have on the faulty research
3. No New Business
Meeting adjourned at 4:15PM
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, February 20, 2012
3:35 – 5:25
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
John Albert
Mike Bemben
Beth Gatewood
Susan Hahn
Mark Jones
Bruce Mason
Nancy Mergler
Erin Wolfe
Tom Woodfin
Linda Anderson
Nick Hathaway
Craig Hayes
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
1. Guest speaker Joe Castiglione – Vice
President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs And Director of Athletics
a. Sooner network will be fully
network worldwide
network will be more widely distributed then the Texas Longhorn network
broadcast all Sooner sports as well OU events such as campus guest speakers
b. Gaylord students are working the
Athletic Department – feature stories, event production – also working with new
sooner network
c. Athletic department is in favor of
student stipends ($2000) to cover costs
not covered by scholarship monies
like to see more control over athletic student spending o
d. Students Athletes have available to
them a SA Opportunity fund
very liberal
be used to purchase a coat or other clothing needs, a trip home or academic
2. Mark Jones gave an update on the
State Finances
a. Still expecting a flat budget, which
equates to about a 5% budget decrease
b. State revenues are up
3. Discussion of the council's report to
President Boren ensued
a. Bruce mason suggested moving the last
paragraph to the beginning of the document
b. Provost Mergler would like to see all
numbers verified
c. Strategic process – furloughs,
benefits, graduate students
d. Over all a more positive, upbeat
4. No New Business
Meeting adjourned at5:25PM
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, March 19, 2012
3:33 – 4:50
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
Mike Bemben
Beth Gatewood
Susan Hahn
Bruce Mason
Nancy Mergler
Erin Wolfe
Tom Woodfin
John Albert
Linda Anderson
Nick Hathaway
Craig Hayes
Mark Jones
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
Susan Hahn, Chair announced guest speaker Tripp Hall,
Vice President for University Development would be unable to attend
Guest speaker: Kelvin
Droegemeier – Vice President for Research
VPR Role: facilitates research and creative activity;
provides funding; sets policies; oversees space, laboratories, and core
Research Mission: To utilize the intellectual,
technological, and administrative resources of the University of Oklahoma for
the generation and dissemination of new knowledge to understand and improve all
aspects of life and living.
Research Vision: To become the Nation's foremost
public comprehensive research university of our size.
VPR Role: facilitates research and creative activity;
provides funding; sets policies; oversees space, laboratories, and core
Research Mission: To utilize the intellectual,
technological, and administrative resources of the University of Oklahoma for
the generation and dissemination of new knowledge to understand and improve all
aspects of life and living.
Research Vision: To become the Nation's foremost
public comprehensive research university of our size.
1300 research faculty
MS students, 1400 doctoral students
colleges (+ Graduate, CCE/Liberal Studies, Law, Honors, University)
than 60 academic departments spanning physical and life sciences, engineering,
arts, fine arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, business,
than 70 centers/institutes (7 University Strategic Organizations)
Core Facilities, numerous laboratories
surveys (Bio, Geo, Climate, Archeology, Water)
field stations (Biological, Atmospheric/Ecological)
Research Campus
VPR Budget = IDC recovered in grant/contract expenditures
Faculty Start-Up
Research Incentive (IDC return, 18% to unit, 2% to deans)
Program Support (25% to PI, 20% to Dean, 10% to Home Unit, 5% to Administering
Council Programs (Faculty Investment Program, Junior Faculty Fellowships)
Direct Programs (Faculty Travel Support Program, Publication Support Program,
Arts and Humanities Program)
Challenge Grant Program ($650K in 2011)
Transformative Research Program ($100K in 2010)
in Partners Place Buildings
Proposal Cost Sharing
Initiatives Faculty Salaries
Laboratory Staff Salaries
Requests/Emergency Needs
Support Services
for Research Program Development and Enrichment (CRPDE)
of Research Services (ORS)
for Applied R&D (CARD)
of Defense, Security and Intelligence (DSI) Programs
and Operations (space, business plans, budgets)
Statistics and Analysis (RSA)
These are the best of times, and challenging (but not the worst of)
times" (D. Boren)
Federal agency research budgets
existing obligations with new commitments
faculty turnover in next several years (loss of grant-productive
faculty, large start-up costs, ramp-up of research programs)
of research infrastructure
number of unfunded compliance mandates (data management, COI, cost
sharing, reporting, …)
of IDC on many Federal programs
investing strategically in strongest research programs
other areas, especially those having synergy with them
and deepen engagement with industry
recruiting outstanding talent – "Need a big pond to fish for marlin"
a comprehensive institution
Broadening the
Research Portfolio (Defense/Security/Intelligence Initiative)
and Winning National Centers (Centers Initiative)
Thinking Bigger/Larger Projects (Challenge Grants, Incentive Program)
with Federal Labs, Universities, Private Companies
Applied R&D (Center for Applied R&D; pursuit of a UARC)
Undergraduate Research Across the University
to build research programs with Health Science Center
Interdisciplinary Research and Collaborative Environments
Faculty Leadership
Electing, and Nurturing National Academy Members
Outstanding Faculty for Prestigious National Awards
on Broadening Participation
Incentivizing & Rewarding Excellence in Scholarship Across all Disciplines
** For full powerpoint presentation: http://vpr-norman.ou.edu/vpr-presentations
Continuing Business
Discussion continued regarding document to President
Boren. The current document was accepted by council with two changes suggested by
Tom Woodfin
Meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, April 16, 2012
3:34 – 4:50
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
John Albert
Mike Bemben
Beth Gatewood
Susan Hahn
Mark Jones
Bruce Mason
Nancy Mergler
Erin Wolfe
Tom Woodfin
Linda Anderson
Nick Hathaway
Craig Hayes
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
Susan Hahn, Chair, announced guest speaker Guy Patton,
President, OU Foundation would be unable to attend
Guest Speaker: Julius Hilburn
– Associate Vice President for Human Resources
for the proposed change is the costs that OU pays for retiree medical benefits
increased 46 percent from 2008 to 2010 (from $6.3 million to $9.2 million), and
the number of retirees increased 16 percent (from 1767 to 2056). Another 1800
employees will be eligible to retire within the next five years.
no changes - the projection is these costs will consume more than $26
million in 2022.
only change since 2007 is employees hired on or after January 1, 2008 can
participate in OU's retiree medical plan, but they are not eligible to receive
a University subsidy.
community recommended that changes should not motivate employees to accelerate
their planned retirement date to gain a better benefit
benefits should be based on the date an employee is eligible to
Other recommendations:
changes should allow time for planning,
of changes should be lower on those retired or close to retirement
should be easy to understand and communicate
contribution toward retiree medical premiums in the future should be based
primarily on years of service, not just on age.
rules to qualify for OU retirement are not changing - three ways to qualify:
plus service equals or exceeds 80
any age with 25 years of OU service,
age 62 with 10 years of OU service.
** employees
must be covered by OU's plan for five years prior to retiring to qualify for OU
retiree medical coverage.
Hilburn explained that the "Rule of 90" is an OTRS retirement rule and does not
have to do with OU retirement. Employees who qualify for OU retirement receive
the medical benefit, dental coverage, parking, and discounts to events.
proposal has more moderate changes that spread the impact across a broader
group of employees:
who become eligible to retire from OU by December 31, 2015, the University
would continue to pay 100 percent of the premium
those who become eligible on or after January 1, 2016, would contribute to the
cost of their retiree medical coverage based on age and service - University
subsidy would be between 55 percent and 95 percent of the overall premium.
would not be eligible for a subsidy until they reach age 55.
Hilburn explained that the OU contribution is locked in at the age when the
person starts coverage and the years of service when the person retires -
example, if someone begins coverage between the age of 62 and 64 and has 20-24
years of service, OU would pay 75 percent of the premium, and the retiree would
be responsible for the other 25 percent. If an employee is a member of OTRS, he
or she would get a credit from OTRS of about $105 per month before the
percentage is applied.
recommendation is, as of January 1, 2013, employees would be allowed to defer
participation in the OU plan if they provide evidence of other insurance
would continue to provide employees who have more than ten years of service
with a disability retirement subsidy of 100 percent for those who become
eligible by December 31, 2015 and 95 percent for those who become eligible after
January 1, 2016.
keeping with the principle of impacting a broader group of people, as of
January 1, 2016, some changes are being proposed for all Medicare eligible
participants who retired on or after July 1, 1995:
covers retirees once they become 65. Until then they have the same medical
coverage as active employees. Our current plan pays 100 percent of anything
that Medicare does not pay.
proposal would introduce a $300 annual deductible and a change in the way the
OU plans integrates with Medicare that would create a cost sharing similar to
the active employee plan.
To shield retirees from catastrophic events,
the maximum out-of-pocket expense would be $1500.
proposed Medicare exclusion coordination method is pretty common and used to be
used by OU until the early 2000s.
proposed changes would reduce the University post-retirement benefit obligation
by about 28 percent, from $540 million to $390 million.
rating agencies look at our ability to pay and service debt. The
post-retirement benefit obligation impacts our ability to issue bonds. In
addition to reducing our long-term liability,
the proposal would show that we have a plan in place to manage those
Mr. Hilburn explained how the various features
would contribute to the savings:
§ opt out provision $17 million (11
§ $300 deductible $26 million (17
§ new coordination method with Medicare $53
million (35 percent)
§ retiree contributions $57 million (37
retiree contributions would not start until 2016
2016, we could realize a cost savings of around $2.3 million.
effective date for all changes except the opt-out is January 1, 2016 so as to
build in a lot of lead time.
next steps are to seek feedback on the proposal and submit recommendations to
President Boren in early March. The President will decide which recommendations
to take and whether to modify any.
Regents' approval is expected in March or May.
Hilburn will be making a presentation to the Staff Senate and has been in
contact with the retiree association.
New Business
Tom Woodfin agreed to assume the Chair of the Budget
Council for the 2012-13 academic year.
Meeting adjourned at5:00 PM
Attachment: e-mail from
Julius Hilburn to the Budget Council:
Budget Council Members
As a follow up to our
discussion yesterday at the Budget Council meeting, I'd like to provide some
additional information. We covered lots of topics, and based on some
feedback and follow up questions I received, I think it's important that I
clarify and expand on some of my comments.
Regarding the Employee
Benefits Committee consideration of recommendations to President Boren for
changes to the retiree medical plan, EBC members engaged in a lively discussion
of suggested changes to the contribution subsidy matrix and the effective date
for Medicare benefit changes. As I indicated during my comments,
there was full consensus that the date for implementing the Medicare changes
should remain January 2016. But there was significant debate about
changes to the contribution subsidy matrix proposed by the Faculty Senate
Executive committee. Ultimately, the EBC voted on a resolution to accept
the original proposal that included a contribution matrix with subsidy amounts
ranging from 55-95% and Medicare changes beginning in 2016. The EBC voted
10 to 1 in favor of the resolution. There were 4 EBC members not in
attendance. I want to make sure that everyone understands the topic of
providing a 100% benefit for those reaching age 62 with at least 25 years of
service was vigorously debated, especially if that was not clear from my
comments yesterday.
Below is the contribution
matrix proposed by the Faculty Senate executive committee.
The proposed 100% subsidy for those over 62 with 25 years of service is shown.
I made a comment in response to a question from Mike Bemben that there was a
25% improvement in the benefit for some employees, where the old matrix would
have only provided a 10% step up. I was referring to those employees ages
55-61 who would receive a 75% subsidy, but who would have a 25% benefit
improvement should they postpone retirement until at least age 62 in order to
qualify for the 100% subsidy proposed. Thought I should clarify my
Should you have further
questions or need additional information, don't hesitate to let me know.
Age |
Years of Service |
10-14 |
15-19 |
20-24 |
25+ |
Under 55 |
can retire with 25 years of service. No university subsidy until age
55. |
55-61 |
Eligible |
must meet |
- must meet Rule of 80 |
75% |
62-64 |
55% |
65% |
75% |
100% |
65+ |
65% |
75% |
85% |
100% |
Hilburn Fax:
(405) 325-7354 |
Budget Council Minutes
Monday, May 21, 2012
3:34 – 3:45
The meeting took place at the
Provost's Conference Room, first floor, Evans Hall. Those in attendance include the following
members of the Council:
Mike Bemben
Susan Hahn
Craig Hayes
Bruce Mason
Nancy Mergler
Erin Wolfe
Tom Woodfin
John Albert
Beth Gatewood
Linda Anderson
Mark Jones
Nick Hathaway
Presidential Faculty appointee
Presidential student appointee
Two UOSA student appointees
Susan Hahn (Chair) called the meeting to order at
Susan Hahn, Chair, announced guest speaker Chris
Kuwitzky – Associate Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief
Financial Officer would be unable to attend.
E-mail from
Chris: There have been no material changes on the budget front since the
President's Budget Forum on April 30th. We are waiting on the
Legislature to allocate funds to the OSRHE, at which point we will learn what
OU's FY13 appropriation will be. That of course will allow us to finalize
Fall 2012 tuition and mandatory fee
recommendations. It's just a guess at this point, but tuition and
mandatory fee increases of 3% +/- may be necessary … depending on State
Linda Anderson and Mark Jones were unable to attend
Email from Linda:
we are trying to do as much as we can before we get our numbers on Friday (if
we get them that is!!). As soon as I find out
anything about tuition and fees or appropriations, I will send you an
Guest Speaker: Dan Pullin – Vice President for
Strategic Planning and Economic Development
Dan administers three
Engagement Office (CEO) develops relationships
for the university
in the shared interest of OU's research and development enterprise, the
Corporate Engagement Office (CEO) facilitates interaction among academia,
government, military, and private sector interests, helping to build
relationships and identify opportunities of common interest. Specific CEO
activities include observing trends and opportunities, orienting relationships
and strategies for Research Campus capabilities and assisting to develop OU's
responses to those opportunities
of Technology Development (OTD) manages OU
technology transfer
and staff members on OU's three campuses are increasingly engaged in basic and
applied research, the results of which may have significant commercial and/or
societal impact. Overseeing the commercial development of those results is the
responsibility of OU's Office of Technology Development (OTD), which has
intellectual property responsibility for all three campuses. OTD works with researchers
to focus on getting value from the technology that is developed at OU. Those
efforts, in turn, allow for the creation of new companies or execution of
licenses with companies that can benefit from that technology, all of which
contributes directly to the intellectual, economic, social and cultural
vitality of the state and nation.
its creation in 1998, OTD has created 36 companies that have generated more
than $75 million in capital, more than $10 million in cash and more than $30
million in current estimated equity value for the university. In addition,
these companies have created in excess of 150 jobs, which pay on average nearly
twice the median household income in Oklahoma. In FY2009, through OTD, the
University was awarded 16 U.S. patents and 7 foreign patents; entered into
three exclusive license agreements and one non-exclusive license agreement; and
actively marketed 27 selected technologies.
for the Creation of Economic Wealth (CCEW) engages
faculty, students, and alumni to grow and diversify our economy
spring 2006, OU's Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth (CCEW) was
established. Administered by OU's University Vice President for Strategic
Planning and Technology Development and operating alongside the Office of
Technology Development (OTD), CCEW creates an environment where students and
faculty can learn about entrepreneurial ventures and how ideas lead to
intellectual property, intellectual property leads to products, products lead
to companies and jobs, and jobs lead to a stronger, more diverse economy.
objectives are to broaden exposure to the entrepreneurial process, give
students the opportunity to engage in real-world business enterprise,
accelerate moving OU technology into the marketplace and strengthen wealth
development in Oklahoma. By design, CCEW is truly an interdisciplinary program
with students representing, to date, the colleges of Engineering, Business,
Arts & Sciences, Journalism, Fine Arts, and Law. Through both a
Mentor-In-Residence Program and an internship program, CCEW participants engage
in entrepreneurial outreach activities and the development of actual start-up
companies. Under the direction of mentors from the Oklahoma business community
and OU faculty and staff, 84 outstanding students completed internships with
CCEW and another 12 have been admitted to the program for Fall
Meeting adjourned at 4:45pm
To: David L. Boren, President
From: Budget Council
The Budget Council would like
to express our sincere appreciation for your leadership and advocacy for the
University during the last four very difficult budget years.
Although the national economy
and, in particular, the Oklahoma economy, is showing signs of improvement,
indications are that the University will continue to face a difficult budget
situation for some time to come, due in large part to increases in fixed costs
and continued reduction in the proportion of the budget underwritten by the
state government. In this report we
would like to offer our perspective on possible ways forward from here, based
on the input we have obtained not only from officials representing many
different sectors of the University, but from conversations with our colleagues
and students.
One message we have
encountered consistently from those we have consulted in our deliberations has
been that much of the progress the University has made over the years has been
due to your skillful negotiation of the complicated and difficult budget
process, in which competing ideas and pressures from a variety of state
agencies must be reconciled. In the
spirit of the Guiding Principles for Budgetary Actions approved by the Faculty
Senate in May 2010 (see attached), we offer these suggestions in hopes they
will help you as you continue to navigate these waters.
As you know, the University
has implemented permanent budget cuts of around 5% each year for the past few
years and is planning to institute further permanent cuts. Their cumulative effect has been such that
there is now little left to cut without making some very hard decisions. Many departments have dealt with the cuts by
reducing their one-time instructional support (OTIS) budgets. Students are
facing larger class sizes and less interaction with faculty as temporary
faculty lines and adjunct positions have been eliminated. This, together with the hiring freeze that
has been in place since 2008, has meant a concomitant increase in faculty teaching
load, in the form of either more classes or more students per class.
As faculty members we have
striven to maintain the quality of our teaching in these new circumstances
while at the same time improving and expanding our research enterprise. The Aspire 2020 planning framework has set
our institution an ambitious goal: to become the nation's foremost public
comprehensive research university of our size.
Our progress to date has resulted in the University of Oklahoma being
classified, for the first time in 2011, as an RU/VH (very high research
activity) university by the Carnegie Foundation. We think that increased funding for research
is likely to continue to be one bright spot in the budget picture in coming
years. But for this to happen, faculty
members need to be free to devote time to instructing graduate students and
involving them in their research projects. Since graduate courses have
relatively small enrollments, and may even be one-on-one reading courses
between a faculty member and a student, faculty generally have to undertake
these specialized graduate instruction in addition to their regular teaching
duties. Therefore we feel that, for the
health of the University research mission, it's imperative that instructional
money not be further cut.
We believe that reductions should
not come from staff resources, which are essential to the smooth everyday
functioning of the University. Although
private funding has secured new programs and facilities for research, we have
not been able to grow the research infrastructure to support it, which can
result in new programs cannibalizing resources from areas of existing strength.
In addition, faculty and
staff are highly concerned with changes in the benefits and retirement
programs. In the past many departments
were able to attract highly acclaimed faculty with lure of the University's
stellar benefits program. Changes in
retirement benefits and compensation have significantly restricted the ability
of departments to attract and hire premier faculty.
As proposed in the Faculty
Senate's Budgetary Guidelines, we request that you clearly establish how any
further permanent budget cuts are related to long-term issues before
instituting them. Once they have been established as related to long-term
issues then we would like to work with you to come up with measures to address
them without impacting the university's core mission.
The Budget Council
Susan E. Hahn, Chair
Education Council
2011-12 Annual
Submitted by
SHANNON BERT, Chair
Shannon Bert, Chair; Kirby Gilliland; Hans-Peter Wachter; Molly Murphy, Jenny Barnhouse, Michael Buckley, Juanita Vargas, Julie
Raadschelders, Rebecca Cook, Chris Elliott
Ex-officio Members: James Pappas, VP University Outreach; Nancy Mergler, Senior VP &
Provost; Kelvin Droegemeier, VP for Research; T.H. Lee Williams, Graduate
College Dean
Meetings: November 11, 2011; February 20, 2012; and due to
conflicting and demanding calendars, the April 30 Continuing Education Council
meeting was cancelled.
Transition: From 2010 to 2011, Dr. Gilliland served as chair and
enjoyed the experience. In Fall 2011, Drs. Pappas and
Gilliland agreed it would be good to have a different chair for the new
perspective and ideas. At the November 2011 meeting, Dr. Gilliland opened the
floor to nominations for chair and nominated Shannon Bert. Dr. Bert graciously accepted and the Council
was unanimous with approval. Dr. Bert began serving officially as Chair of the
CE Council in February 2012.
our Purpose: We began the year by revisiting the
Continuing Education Council's Charge to refresh ourselves regarding our
responsibilities and roles as a council. After reviewing past annual reports and reflecting on past meetings,
it was clear that there were many instances where people made recommendations
and offered insights or suggestions, but this may not have been fully conveyed
by the annual reports. This year, we made an effort to give a richer
representation of the Council's activities in reports.
An Overview of Outreach: At the beginning of each academic year, as well as
when new members are in attendance, Dr. Pappas provides a brief overview of
Outreach activities including its programs and budget. At the November 2011
meeting, Dr. Pappas distributed the Outreach
Lifelong Learning Opportunities brochure which gives a general description
of offerings. Below is a listing of activities highlighted: the Outreach Postal
Service contract of $11M per year is the largest; Outreach has a number of
activities related to child support that are ongoing; conducting financial
planning and training for securities commission; working with minorities;
researching juvenile justice. Becky Cook (National Center for Disability
Education & Training) stated that their most recent activities have been
with the U.S. Department of Labor working with entities on increasing
employment opportunity for minorities with disabilities among minority owned
businesses. They are also working with SAIC and FAA, as well as a number of
economic development districts in the state with the Department of Commerce.
Online Marketing: Outreach has created three 30-60 second commercials
with Sooner Sports and has integrated billboards, NPR, ads, etc. The Council
learned about new initiatives focusing on older students, working mothers, and
military audiences. Outreach has been working with JMH Consultants to upgrade
their website for electronic marketing. After reviewing the Outreach websites,
JMH suggested that Outreach consolidate.
Outreach has 30 to 40 program units with their own websites, which does
not allow for consistency. Though each website is attractive for their
particular audience, it does not cross-market the college well.
Nontraditional Doctorate: Nontraditional doctorate degrees have seen a large
growth along with distance education. In order to increase status, many
disciplines have started creating practice doctorates. The Sloan Consortium
states that by 2015-20 there will be more nontraditional doctorates than
traditional doctorates. Many traditional
universities are looking at non-traditional doctorates, as well as online
doctoral programs. The CE Council will
explore this new trend in upcoming meetings and make recommendations. One suggestion was that CCE might sponsor a
national conference on the non-traditional doctorate. Dr. Williams raised the issue of the
scholarly experience associated with the typical doctoral degree and whether it
is necessary to be on campus to achieve the "scholarly community experience."
Chair Gilliland stated that the Council had discussed possibly sponsoring a
forum on nontraditional doctorate degrees. However, there was not much
enthusiasm from the faculty. Dr. Williams had suggested attaching it to another
national event, i.e., Council of Graduate School's annual meeting. He approached them and they are interested.
Dr. Williams will contact Dr. Pappas once firm arrangements are being
Dr. Pappas has edited a
monograph on the topic of nontraditional doctorates. In fact, Advanced Programs
has a good model of delivering doctoral degree to students not on campus.
Discussions ensued regarding developing an Outreach Forum regarding
non-traditional doctorates and privatization doctoral programs; profit
institutions vs. non-profit institutions; and research vs. applied. We should
explore the different models of the doctoral experience as new models are
emerging that are atypical doctorates. Dr. Williams wrote about OU's
Organizational Leadership program where our student body is based in Germany
and they create their own cohort. Now disciplines are creating their own
doctorate practice oriented degree, i.e., Psy.D.
(Psychology), DNP (Nursing Practice), DMA (Musical Arts), and professional
doctorates where the major part of their activity is practice based. The doctorate has historically been a
research degree and the students were apprentices. Now there are structured
curricula that are individualized in the end.
Is a traditional doctorate a person working during the day and taking
night classes? Suggestions for speakers include: DOE rep., accrediting agency
rep., authors of books/journals regarding what constitutes the doctoral
experience; the Deans involved with the Councils of Graduate Schools to provide
legitimacy and perhaps sponsorship with the Under Secretary of Education.
Creating Awareness of CE
Programs: While serving as Chair, Dr.
Gilliland initiated the allotment of time to each meeting to increasing the
awareness of programs and services offered by Outreach among Council members
and well as the University at large. In an effort to do so, representatives
from CE programs are invited to attend the Council meeting and provide a brief
demonstration of their program and/or services. At the November 2011 meeting,
Bob Dougherty (CLS IT), Rosemary Hayes (C-IDEA), Bryan Bowden (FVBP), gave a
demonstration of Web Conferencing. They demonstrated how the internet can be
used for conferences, courses, meetings, trainings, etc. This process allows sharing files, immediate
interface (whether verbal or typed comments), ability to change presenters,
recording the event, etc. Those interested should contact Film and Video
Broadcast Productions (FVBP) at 325-4479 for information and assistance.
At the February 2012 meeting
Kelly Damphousse was invited to speak regarding accountability for OU teaching:
Dr. Damphousse was asked to speak to the large portion of faculty teaching for
Outreach on an overload basis, e.g., AP, CLS, OSHER, as well as accountability.
He distributed overheads titled A&S
Strategies for Management Enrollment which included data charts on teaching
within the colleges. There was a discussion about rising tuition rates (tuition
rate is higher than anything else in the consumer index) and the concern it has
caused within the public. Dr. Damphousse pointed out, however, that tuition
increases have mirrored state cuts and funding of higher education.
Furthermore, Dr. Damphousse discussed the College of Arts and Sciences' growing
concern that the quality of education is going down and that
faculty are being paid and not teaching enough. Some universities are
creating new teaching load rules for faculty where faculty must teach freshmen
at least every other year, must teach at least 100 students per year, class
enrollment must be at least 40. We do
not currently have these policies at OU. Council members, including faculty,
are feeling the strain as well. CAS are working with chairs to monitor more
closely and have data sets with better information such as number of classes
offered, size of classes, betting utilization of summer session. He suggested 3 sources to find data – ClassMap; Ozone The Book; the new
Credit Hour Report. Corollary to that,
there is a lot of stories that faculty are not teaching full loads, yet they
can teach in Continuing Education.
However, Dr. Pappas has reviewed records and found that
faculty who teach in Outreach do in fact teach their full loads.
Grants and Contracts: Dr. Pappas distributed a Daily Caller news article Investigation:
FAA romance led to $970M contract award, 3,300% increase in air traffic control
errors. The article states that there are questionable behaviors on part of
the FAA and the contract. Raytheon had a bid overrun of $50M, which was
approved by the FAA. At the same time a large percentage of air traffic
controllers are having problems as a result of their training. The FAA is under
a lot of pressure. We have been working
with our legislative liaisons who have alerted our delegation to several issues
including the knowledge that it would
make sense for them to come to Oklahoma since we have done the training here,
have the expertise, have better costs than other airports, and we have taught
these classes. Our hope is that if there is a rebid there will be more of an
open field.
Dr. Pappas attended CCME
where discussion ensued that the military is trying to set a tuition standard
for all schools that teach in military. The intent was to protect students from
for-profits, however, it has morphed into having
everyone charging in-state tuition for military students. This would be a
significant challenge for those in military education though we are less
impacted because of contract fees. This would drive out of military field those
that did not agree to in-state tuition for all students. This may result in 3rd
party payers (state government, corporate tuition assistance) limiting tuition
Discussion/Participation Among Council Members at
Meetings: We sent out a Surveymonkey to address days of the week council prefers to
meet in hopes of increasing meeting attendance as well as topics that the
Council might like to discuss. The topics rated most highly were
accountability; changing faculty roles; learning standards and outcomes; gamification and digital presence; accreditation; and
dealing with international opportunities. Dr. Pappas, along with Council
members, acknowledged the dramatic increase in attendance and participation.
Prior to the February 20,
2012 meeting, Dr. Bert met with Dr. Pappas to discuss additional ways of
increasing member discussions and participation at the Council meetings. It was
decided that Kelly Damphousse would be invited to present on the topic of
changing faculty roles within the current financial climate. To facilitate
discussion, Drs. Bert and Pappas researched various articles related to the
topic and had each forwarded them to Council members prior to the meeting.
These articles included: Roles and
Activities of the Future Professoriate by Plater,
Schuster & Gappa; The Chronicle's Workload and Faculty Roles and Redefining Faculty Roles; a Tulane
University Strategic Planning article titled Changing Role of Faculty; and the
article Changes in Higher Education
Redefining Faculty Roles by UConn
Topics for Discussion at
the Fall 2012 Meeting: The Council approved gamification
for the next agenda. We might consider inviting Greg Garn to speak to the
agenda. Scott Green at K20 is the actual
developer for gamification and may be another person
to be invited to speak to the Council.
The following members were present:
S. Lakshmivarahan |
Computer Science |
College of Engineering (Chair) |
Kevin Haney |
Developmental Dentistry |
College of Dentistry |
Dora DiGiacinto |
Medical Imaging & Radiation Sci. |
College of Allied Health |
Klein |
Meteorology |
of Atmos. & Geo Sci. |
Kumar |
Medicine |
of Medicine |
Alfred |
Imaging & Radiation Sci. |
of Allied Health |
Lee |
Mathematics |
of Arts & Science |
Milton |
and Astronomy |
of Arts & Science |
Neas |
& Epidemiology |
of Public Health |
The following members were absent:
Linda Young (Alumnus)
We had a slate of 46
nominations for the various awards. The nomination files of the ten nominees
for the David Ross Boyd Professorship were reviewed by all, the rest of
nominations were equally split between two subcommittees consisting of near
equal number of members of the council.
The winners were selected at
the meeting at the Norman Provost conference room from 11.30 to 2.00 pm on
Friday January 27th, 2012. Provost office provided with box lunches.
Members of the council helped
to write a short bio on the winners, which were read at the time of
announcement of the award.
The committee adjourned after
electing the chair for the next year 2012-13:
Satish Kumar (HSC College of Medicine).
We thank Ms. Mechelle Gibson
for coordinating all the activities of the council that made our job a lot
Faculty Senate Appointees:
Kao |
Chung |
Physics & Astronomy |
09 |
12 |
McCuen |
Tamera |
Construction Science |
09 |
12 |
Kolar |
Randy |
Civil Engr. & Envir.
Science |
10 |
13 |
Schwarzkopf [chair] |
Al |
Management Info. Systems |
10 |
13 |
Ruan |
Jiening |
Instr. Lead. & Acad. Curr. |
11 |
14 |
Staff Senate Appointees:
Ice |
Stefan |
Music |
09 |
12 |
Callahan |
Samuel |
Architecture |
10 |
13 |
Bailey |
Chad |
Education |
11 |
14 |
Ex-officio Members:
Kelly |
Robert |
For the Senior Vice President and Provost |
Millsap |
Burr |
For the Vice President for
Administrative Affairs |
Papavassiliou |
Dimitrios |
For the Vice President for Research |
Hathaway |
Nick |
For the President |
Early |
Loretta |
VP for Info. Technology |
The Information Technology
Council (ITC) identified three areas of particular concern for its focus this
year. These areas were
oZONE and associated applications
Capture and related classroom technologies
support and backup technologies
oZONE Usage
This semester we added the
chair of the ITC (myself) to the Ozone Retention and
Change Committee, the committee that oversees changes to the oZONE system. This
allows more immediate faculty feedback that we have had in the past. Focusing on use, rather than features has
helped refocus this committee.
We hosted a presentation from
SunGuard that outlined new features for the upgraded oZONE. As chair I
was able to assign two MIS capstone student teams to research various issues in
We asked Field Project Team 1
to analyze user interactions within the oZONE system
to identify issues and determine solutions for
its various functions. More specifically, the student process of enrollment and
registering for classes and the adviser processes have been reviewed and
analyzed for significant issues. oZONE
provides a single portal for students, faculty, and administration to perform
various functions. These functions include email, checking grades,
enrollment, advising, financial aid, viewing and paying bills, library access,
etc. The current adviser and enrollment processes have some usability
difficulties. The system is inefficient because of the complexity involved in
seemingly simple tasks. The goals of the new system feature easy ways of
enrolling and advising utilizing revised oZONE
interfaces, thus making it more user-friendly.
At this time, oZONE is the common system that both
students and advisers use. The users perform different functions within the
system. Each of the user's purposes was analyzed, and the most appropriate
solution was recommended. The solutions will simplify the processes by
modifying the user interfaces. In order to do this, student enrollment
steps, classes viewing options, degree auditing steps and advising steps were
analyzed and modified.
The University of Oklahoma initially
had two alternatives: continue on with the current oZONE
system processes or change the user interfaces by modifying the current oZONE system. The system vendor, Ellucian
(formerly SunGard), is currently working on an upgrade that will address the
interface issues for student enrollment.
It is unknown exactly when upgrade will be released, but it is expected
within the next year. It is also unknown
exactly how the interface will be changed (anticipated for fall 2013). The
University of Oklahoma and Field Project Team 1 have analyzed the current
system and concluded Banner 9 should resolve many of the issues advisers and
student experience when using oZONE. Banner 9 will
allow advisers and students to spend less time on advising and enrolling and
will provide more time to study and do research.
Adequate training for
advisers and students is essential to ensure oZONE is
utilized as efficiently as possible in the future. We recommend a video clip
with caption as well as a slide show for each step of the process. The slide
show will allow the user to control the speed as they walk through each step.
These videos and slideshows should be made easily available on oZONE. Furthermore, Banner 9 will help The University of
Oklahoma to achieve its mission of providing the best possible educational
oZONE Reporting
Ozone, also known as Banner,
is a transactional ERP that students and faculty use to process student records
and enrollment. The Operational Data
Store, or ODS, is the data repository used by the university for student data
reporting. The ODS is updated once a day from Ozone. Currently, the main
challenge with the ODS is a lack of "fine grained access" – i.e. users should
be able to see only rows that they are authorized to.
The process to modify and
create new reports is complicated by FERPA and the technical inability for
users to create their own reports. The dedicated FERPA representative, Rick
Skeel, and his team approve all user requests for student data access. Data access and Cognos
reporting licensing are two independent and distinct issues addressed in this
Cognos is
IBM's business intelligence (BI) software suite. Its stated
purpose is to enable users without technical knowledge to extract data, analyze
it and assemble reports. The three types
of license categories used at OU are Consumer, Report Studio, and Enterprise.
The Consumer license (BI Consumer) is
the lowest tier with users granted access to "canned" reports created by the
Ozone reporting team. The Report Studio license (BI Advanced Business Author) is the middle tier, with users able
to do some custom reporting. The enterprise license (BI Professional Author) is the highest tier, granting full use of
the Cognos software suite. Enterprise licenses and the associated data
access will be granted on an individual basis.
Users are granted licenses
and access to the ODS through two separate processes which, while independent,
work in parallel. The first is a data access request that goes to the relevant
data owners for approval. The second
request to the OCRC grants the appropriate Cognos
license. The OCRC verifies the user has the permission to access the data
requested, then forwards the request to the OU IT team assigned for report
Data access to reports and
downloads is driven by the need to limit access to student data so that only
people with a genuine need for such data can access it. Defining the right limits for access is
called developing Fine Grain Access authorization that identifies the
individual records and the attributes in those records that each user can
see. This process is now under way and
should lead to more data availability in the near future.
Lecture Capture
OU put out a request for
proposals last year for lecture capture technology. We had three responses: Echo360, Tegrity, Panopto, and Visionality (a
vendor reselling Crestron). We had a comprehensive lecture capture
presentation from OU-IT which is outlined below. In addition we viewed presentations from
Echo360 and Tegrity.
A major problem with all of
these solutions is that none of them are ADA compliant out-of-the-box. Adding closed captioning is generally an
additional cost option through a third party/
Basic features that should be
considered for classroom communication software include:
· Appliance connected to
cameras and microphones
· High quality recordings
· Easier to support and
· Permanently installed in
· Produced content for storage,
archiving, and playback
· OFFERING: Supplemental
material for review
· Complete system with
specialized hardware
· High quality content
· Very expensive with high
support needs
· Very high level of
interaction, real time
· No portability
· No produced content
· Room-to-room
· OFFERING: High quality
experience with maximum interaction.
· Software or Hardware
· High demand on
infrastructure and support
· Limited interaction, BUT
viewed in real time
· No content published-
Intellectual property.
· Some portability
· One-to-many
· OFFERING: Live content
for virtual audience in real time.
· Software based solution
· Increased challenge to
· Requires maximum
independence for end users
· Limited interaction, no
real time
· Potentially lower quality
· Produced content for
storage, archiving, and playback
Portability for Virtual Teaching and Learning
Currently Echo360 is being
used by Atmospheric and Earth Sciences and Tegrity is
being used by the Mewborne College of Earth and
Energy. These are both centrally
administered classroom installations that are primarily designed for
multi-classroom use. The Visionality offering is primarily a hardware product that
could be installed in a single classroom.
We also looked at the
software tools available for creating small video tutorials. Several are available:
your Lecture
In order to record your lecture you will
need to download software and install it on your computer. A major issue here is how to distribute the
results. Video files are relatively
large and D2L is not set up to support them.
OU is trying to use iTunes U, but the setup process has not been well
There are a few good and inexpensive
programs available. Here are some listed below.
Sceenr ‐ $19 (Free to try and unlimited users for individual
this program is easy to use and is PC/Apple friendly. Files are generated in an
.m4v format for fast
distribution. http://www.screenr.com/
ProfCast ‐ $59.95 (Powerful tool and easy to use)
ProfCast is a versatile, powerful, yet very simple to
use tool for recording lectures including PowerPoint
and/or Keynote slides for creating enhanced podcasts. Works well with both
Camstudio ‐ FREE
probably the best little recording program for simply recording the
instructor's computer screen and
audio. Camstudio uses really simple
controls and learning how to use it will only take a few tries. Keep
mind that it records and makes an .avi file and is PC
only. In order to edit the file or add titles you will
need to use another program. http://camstudio.org/
Jing ‐ FREE (Pro version is $15/year)
This is an elegant little piece of software and is really easy to use. It's
distributed by TechSmith (makers
Camtasia) and is a good step if you are thinking
about stepping up to Camtasia. One big advantage of
Pro version is that you can record webcam video of the instructor.
Audacity ‐ FREE
Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is
available for Mac OS X,
Microsoft Windows, Linux, and other
operating systems. Don't forget to download
LAME encoder!!!
Download one of these programs and open up a slide
presentation. Record yourself talking at the slides
a few minutes and VIEW the lecture sample. Viewing your performance is
extremely important
when you are starting out. It is sort of like recording your golf swing. You
won't get better until you see
just how bad you really are! But I assure you that with time
you will adjust to this new way of teaching.
Data Archiving
One of the issues
considered this year was the identification of technology for archiving up and
storing critical research data. We call
the process of periodically copying selected files to a secondary site
"Archiving." "Backup" is the process of
storing incremental changes as they occur.
Backup across the OU network has the potential of badly impacting
network performance. Therefore, we
focused on archiving solutions. There
are several options.
An issue for
managing archived files is that compromise of secure student data (FERPA
records) puts both the faculty member and the university at legal risk. Any solution needs to have limited access and
preferably be stored on university managed facilities. Basic file storage options include the
IT File ($12 per GB/year)
Portfolio (Free)
D2L Locker (Free)
Dropbox (Free)
Box (Free)
Research data can be much
larger and may require the facilities of the OU managed PetaStore. This facility provides free storage of large
quantities of data for the cost of a datacenter tape, but it is not certified
for FERPA data.
The members of the 2011-2012
Research Council, their departments and terms:
David Boeck |
Architecture |
2009-12 |
Mark Nanny |
Engineering/Environmental Science |
2009-12 |
K. David Hambright |
Zoology |
2009-12 |
Karen Leighly |
Physics/Astronomy |
2009-12 |
Marcia Haag |
Modern Languages,
Linguistics, Literature |
2010-13 |
Marvin Lamb |
Music |
2010-13 |
Michael McInerney |
Botany/Microbiology |
2010-13 |
Lori Snyder |
Psychology |
2010-13 |
Paul Spicer |
Anthropology |
2010-13 |
Dimitrios Papavassiliou |
Chemical, Biological &
Materials Eng. |
2011-14 |
Suzanne Moon |
History of Science |
2011-14 |
Ralf Schmidt |
Mathematics |
2011-14 |
Laurie Scrivener |
University Libraries |
2011-14 |
Ex-Officio Members:
Kelvin Droegemeier |
Vice President for Research |
Andrea Deaton |
Associate Vice President for
Research, and Director of the Office for Research Services |
Alicia Knoedler
Associate Vice President for
Research, and Director of the Center for Research Program Development &
Enrichment |
Cindy Clark |
1/1/12 – current |
Linda Kilby |
7/1/11 – 12/31/11 |
Professor Mark Nanny joined the
Council in January 2012 to complete the term for Elizabeth Butler, and Suzanne
Moon joined the Council in November 2011 to complete the term for Terry
Rugeley. Cindy Clark assumed
responsibility for the duties of the Secretary as January 2012. Linda Kilby
stepped down as Secretary after eleven years of serving the Research Council.
Professors Boeck, Nanny,
Hambright, and Leighly completed their terms at the end of the 2011-2012
academic year. The 2012-2013 Chair of the Research
Council was elected at the May, 2012 meeting and will be Dr. Paul Spicer,
Department of Anthropology.
The Faculty Senate Appointments
to replace David Boeck, Mark Nanny, K. David Hambright and Karen Leighly are
Traci Cart, Younane Abousleiman, Bing Zhang, and Sheena Murphy, respectively.
In accordance to the charge of
the Research Council (January 7, 2004), appointments to the Council include two
members in each of the following six areas and one member from Fine Arts:
a) Engineering: Mark Nanny
and Dimitrios Papavassiliou
b) Physical Sciences: Karen
Leighly and Ralf Schmidt
c) Social Sciences and
Education: Paul Spicer and Lori Snyder
d) Biological Sciences:
Michael McInerney and K. David Hambright
e) Humanities and Arts:
Marcia Haag and Suzanne Moon
f) Other: Laurie Scrivener
and David Boeck
Fine Arts: Marvin Lamb
Activities (2011-2012)
The primary activity of the
Research Council during the 2011-2012 academic year
was to advise and make recommendations to the Vice President for Research (VPR)
pertaining to expenditures and awards under his administration, namely
Small Grant
Awards ($1,200 or less)
Large Grant
($1,201 - $7,500)
Reprint Awards
(< $250)
Investment Program (Up to $15,000)
PI Investment
Awards ($1,200 - $10,000)
Junior Faculty
Fellowships ($7,000 + Fringe)
Transformative Research ($10,000 - $50,000)
The Potentially Transformative
Program was not offered during FY2012.
During the Fall of 2011, the Research Council
determined that the Small Grant Program and the Large Grants Program would no
longer be offered, but that they would be collapsed into a new program: the
Faculty Investment Program (FIP). In
addition, the Reprint Program would no longer be supported by the Research Council,
effective January 1, 2012. A summary of
the Research Council recommendations approved by the VPR for the period July 1,
2011 through June 30, 2012 is available on the Research Council's website. Statistics concerning the three programs
supported by the Research Council as of January 1, 2012 are attached.
The Research Council devoted
much time and discussion to the new funding programs, award nominations and
additional issues.
The Council also
reviewed nominations and made recommendations to the Provost for the George
Lynn Cross Research Professorship and the Henry Daniel Rinsland
Memorial Award for Excellence in Educational Research. They also made recommendations to the VPR for
the VPR Outstanding Research Impact Award and the VPR Outstanding Research Engagement
The Research
Council's website now lists award information for all of the Research Council
grant and award recipients
On behalf of the Research
Council, the Chair would like to thank Vice President for Research, Dr. Kelvin
Droegemeier, for his enthusiasm, energetic leadership and unique vision in
reshaping the research landscape at the University of Oklahoma through the
numerous Aspire 2020 initiatives. The Research Council also thanks Dr. Alicia Knoedler, Associate Vice President for Research and
Director of the Center for Research Program Development & Enrichment, for
her efforts on behalf of the Council and for her support of the OU faculty in
their efforts to produce quality research and creative activity. The Research
Council also thanks Andrea Deaton, Associate Vice President for Research, for
her efforts on behalf of the Council and the OU faculty. Finally, the Council
thanks Linda Kilby and Cindy Clark, for the many contributions they made to the
smooth and successful transition of the Secretary's responsibilities. At the May meeting, the Vice President for
Research presented the outgoing members (David Boeck, Mark Nanny, K. David
Hambright, and Karen Leighly), Elizabeth Butler (served 2009-2011), and Linda
Kilby with clocks to show their appreciation for the members' service.
Discipline |
FIP $3,000 and Under |
Number of Proposals Submitted |
Number of Awards |
Average Award |
Percentage of Total Program Expenditures |
Percentage of Total Number Awarded |
Engineering |
0 |
0 |
$ -
0% |
0% |
Physical Sciences |
3 |
1 |
$2,950 |
31% |
25% |
Social Sciences and Education |
2 |
1 |
$3,000 |
31% |
25% |
Biological Sciences |
0 |
0 |
$ -
0% |
0% |
Humanities and Arts |
4 |
2 |
$1,787 |
38% |
50% |
Fine Arts |
1 |
0 |
$ -
0% |
0% |
Other |
0 |
0 |
$ -
0% |
0% |
Totals |
10 |
4 |
100% |
100% |
Discipline |
FIP Over $3,000 |
Number of Proposals Submitted |
Number of Awards |
Average Award |
Percentage of Total Program Expenditures |
Percentage of Total Number Awarded |
Engineering |
2 |
1 |
$ 9,200 |
5% |
6% |
Physical Sciences |
3 |
1 |
$ 8,025 |
5% |
6% |
Social Sciences and Education |
2 |
1 |
$14,999 |
9% |
6% |
Biological Sciences |
9 |
6 |
$13,686 |
47% |
38% |
Humanities and Arts |
6 |
4 |
$ 8,358 |
19% |
25% |
Fine Arts |
2 |
1 |
$14,050 |
8% |
6% |
Other |
4 |
2 |
$ 6,006 |
7% |
13% |
Totals |
28 |
16 |
100% |
100% |
Discipline |
Junior Faculty Fellowship Program |
Number of Proposals Submitted |
Number of Awards |
Average Award |
Percentage of Total Program Expenditures |
Percentage of Total Number Awarded |
Engineering |
2 |
0 |
$ - |
0% |
0% |
Physical Sciences |
5 |
2 |
$ 9,625 |
14% |
13% |
Social Sciences and Education |
9 |
2 |
$ 9,625 |
14% |
13% |
Biological Sciences |
1 |
1 |
$ 9,625 |
7% |
7% |
Humanities and Arts |
11 |
3 |
$ 9,625 |
20% |
20% |
Fine Arts |
3 |
1 |
$ 7,750 |
5% |
7% |
Other |
12 |
6 |
$ 9,426 |
40% |
40% |
Totals |
43 |
15 |
100% |
100% |
COMMITTEE (Norman)
Submitted by
K.K. "Muralee" Muraleetharan, Chair
K.K. "Muralee" Muraleetharan (Civil Engineering &
Environmental Science) (2010-12), Chair
Amy Bradshaw (Educational Psychology) (2011-14)
Jie (Lily) Huang (University Libraries) (2011-13)
Nancy LaGreca (Modern Languages, Literatures, and
Linguistics) (2012-15)
Allison Palmer (Art) (2011-14)
Cindy Rogers (Economics) (Fall 2011)
The FCC held five
formal meetings on 11/01/11, 12/06/11, 03/09/12, 04/13/12, and 05/04/12 and
communicated via email in relation to activities described below.
the request of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC), the FCC undertook
the following tasks.
1 – Compensation for the Graduate Liaisons
FCC Chair corresponded with Lee Williams (Dean of Graduate College) regarding
the compensation for the Graduate Liaisons. Dean Williams acknowledged the
important role played by the Graduate Liaisons. He further indicated that
formally the role of Graduate Liaison is seen as part of a faculty member's
service responsibilities and any extra compensation or reduction in
teaching/research duties for Graduate Liaison work should be determined on a
case by case basis.
2 – Deans' Office Salaries
FCC undertook a study to review the salaries of deans and deans' office staff
in various colleges on the OU's Norman Campus in comparison to salaries of
faculty members and directors/chairs in schools/departments/divisions under
each dean. A report on this study was submitted to the FSEC. The FSEC requested
that the FCC follow-up the above mentioned study with another study to compare
deans' office salaries at OU with corresponding deans' office salaries at OU's
peer institutions to gain further insight into deans' office salaries.
its April 13, 2012 meeting, the FCC unanimously elected Nancy LaGreca as its
next chair.
FACULTY WELFARE COMMITTEE (Norman)
Submitted by
SCOTT MOSES, Chair